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Basically no one is using AI agents for their DoorDash orders
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- DeepHorus
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said AI agents are generating only several hundred orders on the platform. That figure represents a minuscule fraction of the nearly 1 billion total orders DoorDash handled in the third quarter of 2026. Xu described the volume as a "very low use case" during the company's earnings call on Thursday.
The news comes as many companies try to integrate AI agents into online purchasing. Yet consumer adoption for everyday tasks like food delivery remains extremely limited. DoorDash's data suggests most customers still order directly through its app.
Xu noted that AI agents could be helpful for "long consideration purchases" and major decisions. However, he added that simple tasks like ordering food tend to come directly to DoorDash. "When it comes to a task that's as simple as ordering food, we tend to see that come directly to DoorDash," he said.
DoorDash only rolled out its Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector less than a month ago. The connector provides a standardized way for third-party AI agents to order through DoorDash. It is currently available only to a small number of "early beta partners" and mainly used for corporate lunch orders.
Without such a linkup, AI agents must navigate DoorDash through a web interface, adding complexity. The low usage figures highlight the gap between AI hype and actual consumer behavior. For simple transactions, direct interaction remains dominant.
It is still early days for the MCP connector, and usage could grow as more partners gain access. However, AI agents currently represent a negligible share of DoorDash's order volume. Consumer habits appear to change slowly even amid rapid technological advancement.
